There are a lot of people living with chronic pain, and learning how to manage it is difficult. It’s something that I’ve known how to do for a long time, so I thought that I would share what’s in my toolbox for dealing with chronic pain. There are a lot of products and strategies in this post that won’t apply to everyone, but I hope that at least one will be able to help you. 

Before we get into it, I want to be clear that I’m not going to cover pharmaceutical treatments in this post. Medications in general are a big part of my day-to-day treatment, but since that depends a lot on the person, I’m not going to cover that here. 

As a reminder, I am not a medical professional. I cite all scientific facts, which are indicated by (x). Click that x and you’ll go to the source that I got that information from. Please speak to a medical professional to see if these strategies or tools could help or hurt you before trying them! 

Additionally, this post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Kate the (Almost) Great!

Chronic Pain Definition 

Before we talk about managing chronic pain, we have to address what counts as chronic pain. Pain is considered “chronic” when you’ve been dealing with it for 6 or more months (x). 

Sometimes, someone experiences chronic pain because they have an active disease or condition, like rheumatoid arthritis. 

Sometimes, someone experiences chronic pain because they were in an accident of some kind and their body never stops sending pain signals, even though they’re healed.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) says that for some people, “Pain signals keep firing in the nervous system for weeks, months, even years. There may have been an initial mishap […] or there may be an ongoing cause of pain […] but some people suffer chronic pain in the absence of any past injury or evidence of body damage” (x).

Chronic pain can be mild or excruciating. It will depend on the person and the reason for the pain. 

In fact, chronic pain affects far more people than is realized. 

The NIH says that “Approximately 20 percent of U.S. adults had chronic pain and 8 percent had high-impact chronic pain—meaning pain that limited at least one major life activity” (x). This equals around 50 million people (x).

What to do when chronic pain becomes too much

My History of Living with Chronic Pain

I’ve been in pain for a long, long time. 

My chronic pain started in September 2001. I was 10 years old and in the 5th grade. At first, my foot and ankle just hurt when I was in gym class. Then, it would start hurting in gym and last for a while after that. By the time it was 2002, my foot and ankle constantly hurt. 

I was initially diagnosed with tarsal coalitions in both of my feet. That was definitely not helping but based on where my ankle hurt and where the coalition was, it might not have been the main thing causing my pain. I had a lot of surgeries to fix the coalition in my left foot, and by the time I recovered from the last one in 2009, my left foot barely bothered me. Even now, my left ankle is my best joint. 

Over the years that my left foot bothered me, I developed a persistent carpal tunnel in one of my wrists. Basically, as long as I rested that wrist, it was okay. But at the time I played 3 instruments, was in band and orchestra, and was a junior in high school, aka standardized test season. I had to go in a removable cast for 6 weeks in order for it to calm down. 

I later found out that carpal tunnel “is the most common compression neuropathy associated with rheumatoid arthritis” (x). Aka, because of inflammation in my wrists from untreated RA and overuse, I was prone to carpal tunnel. 

I was finally diagnosed with autoimmune arthritis in 2010, and at the time I was diagnosed, I had over 50 joints that were affected by arthritis. 

(My rheumatologist told me at one point that he doesn’t know how I am physically able to get out of bed every morning. I told him that I’m just stubborn as all hell.)

Since that diagnosis, I have also developed with fibromyalgia and endometriosis. Basically, most of my body constantly hurts. 

I’m sharing all of this not so that you feel bad for me – please don’t pity me; I hate that – but so that you understand I have an extensive history of chronic pain. In a few weeks I’ll turn 30. At that point, I will have been in constant pain for 2/3 of my life. 

I’ve had to develop a large toolbox for dealing with chronic pain because my pain isn’t always the same type of pain or caused by the same thing. That being said, let’s talk about what’s in that toolbox.

Beginner’s Guide: Rheumatoid Arthritis Flare Up | What Does Arthritis Pain Feel Like?

My Toolbox for Managing Chronic Pain 

Before we get into my personal toolkit, I want to reiterate that I’m not counting medications in this toolkit. I have talked about arthritis treatments specifically before, but I want to talk about chronic pain at large in this post, so I’m not including medications in general.

TENS unit – This is a unit that uses electric current to stimulate the nerves and help pain. I was prescribed one in high school, and it did help. That was before my arthritis was pretty much everywhere, and since then I’ve used it and it has helped some joints but hasn’t helped others. 

Getting a portable unit does require going through a doctor in order for your insurance to pay for it, but they are way more accessible now than they were in 2006. In fact, Target now sells them. This easy@Home TENS Electronic Pulse Stimulator Muscle Massager Unit is just $40.

KT tape – This is a tool to use if you have joint pain. KT tape has allowed me to use my right hand, supported my shoulder, and helped my knees move in the proper way without my knee caps floating. I suggest using KT Tape Pro, as it lasts longer, and the KT tape website has different instruction videos and PDFs to help you use it correctly. If you don’t see the area of the body or the purpose that you’re looking for on their website, then you can email them to ask. They’re super nice and will help the best they can!

KT Tape is the sort of thing where you will get the most benefit if you use it preemptively. It might help a little if a certain joint is already hurting, but it helps best by reducing the pain before it gets bad. Before I got my compression gloves (keep reading for those!), I taped the knuckle that connects my forefinger to my hand at the beginning of every work day. I super helped.

KT tape also comes in lots of fun colors. Nothing is different except for the color, but it’s a great way to make you smile a bit if, like me, you like color.

What you should know about TMJ arthritis

Compression gloves – If you have an inflammatory condition like rheumatoid arthritis, then you should check out compression gloves. They’re gloves that, well, compress your hands. Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan says: 

“Compression, or wrapping the injured or sore area with an elastic bandage (such as an Ace wrap), will help decrease swelling” (x). 

When I first put on my compression gloves, my hands immediately felt better. My poor fingers are so messed up from arthritis – the tips of my middle fingers point in the wrong direction, which is kind of horrifying – but I’m a writer. I write thousands of words a week for this blog, my newsletter, my social media, and my personal fiction projects. Not to mention the 38 hours a week I work at my “day” job! 

Check out these compression gloves here: these are the ones I have, these are a pair with copper in them, and these have “Thermo Reactive Technology”. They’re all under $20!

Heating pads –  These are so helpful if you have muscle pain. They work wonders for my fibromyalgia and endometriosis pain! 

This heating pad is $30, and is the perfect size for large muscle groups. But if you need neck and shoulder relief, check out this heating pad shaped for those areas, which is $40.

Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis: What I’ve Learned

Ice – If you have joint pain, ice packs are the way to go. They’re great for inflammation, which is usually the issue with joint pain. When you ice something, you should keep it on the joint for 20ish minutes and then remove it for another 20ish, according to my doctors. 

Reusable ice packs are definitely the way to go, and if you need ice and heat for your chronic pain conditions, then there are a bunch of products that can be heated up or put in the freezer. 2 uses, 1 product! 

This one is sized for the back, and comes with a strap. If you have inflammation around your eyes or eye pain in general, this one is specifically for your eyes. (This is one that I have!) This one is on the smaller side, and it’s what I used when I was giving myself injections and needed to ice the spot where I would do the injection.

Describing Pain Levels to a Doctor

Ace bandage – Have you ever sprained a joint? In those times, you’ve probably been told to follow RICE, or rest, ice, compression, and elevation (x). 

If you’re reading this post, then you’re probably going, “Duh, Kate, I know that. I have chronic pain. I didn’t sprain my ankle. Why should I add an Ace bandage to my toolkit?”

The answer is: because the small simple things can still help you deal with chronic pain. 

Now, I’m not saying that you should use an Ace bandage daily. If you feel the need for that, it’s time to invest in a compression sleeve and talk to your doctor. 

As mentioned, I have a well-documented history of foot and ankle problems, and I’ve had 5 foot and ankle surgeries. It’s probably the first place that my RA attacked. It’s the only place that I get rheumatoid nodules. 

I semi-regularly wrap my right foot in an Ace bandage in order to sleep. 

I specifically need the compression in order to sleep, as in these occasions, nothing else helps the specific feeling I have. I don’t need more Advil or more meds or anything. It’s not every night; it’s just 1-2 nights a week. I keep it in my bedside table, and I use it when I need it. 

Temporarily changing my diet – This is something I do when I specifically have pain in my jaw. My jaw has a lot of arthritic damage, and every now and then, I have jaw flares. This makes chewing really painful, and if I’m not careful, I could end up barely able to chew at all. So when it becomes clear that my jaw is flaring – like it is now – I try to change some of the food I eat. 

Currently, I’m trying to have a smoothie for one of my meals five days a week. I’m hoping that in 5-6 weeks, when my next Rituxan infusion kicks in, I will be able to reduce that. But it will depend on how it’s going, especially because I’m trying to reduce my steroid dose and keep it down. Long-term steroid use is so bad for you, and I’m still 2 months away from getting as low as I want to be at. 

Obviously, this is a very specific suggestion, and it won’t apply to all of you. But if you normally eat a food because you just love it so much but you know that your body reacts negatively to it, then then you might want to cut it out for a bit, until your pain improves. 

Yoga – I love yoga. It helps me manage my fibromyalgia a lot, and also helps strengthen my muscles so they are good to support my joints. If you want to get into yoga but aren’t sure how and don’t want to spend the money on a beginner class, a lot of yoga studios will have small drop-in fees for classes. 

Alternatively, you can try Yoga with Adrienne’s YouTube videos, which I love. It’s great for beginner, intermediate, and expert yogis. She has videos for moods, for purposes (like back pain), or in general. Her videos are anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes long, and there are playlists for the different lengths so you can easily sort them. 

If you are ready to spend the money on some yoga gear, I’d start with a yoga mat from Target (and yoga clothes from Target, which is a bit cheaper than elsewhere). This mat in particular is $15. You don’t need to spend a ton of money!

IcyHot – There’s a reason why IcyHot is as well-known as it is: it can help you deal with your pain. IcyHot isn’t for everyone or for every type of pain. A thing I deal with is costochondritis, which is “inflammation of the cartilage that connects a rib to the breastbone” (x). It’s extremely painful, and it’s at such a hard-to-reach and a hard-to-treat area. Personally, IcyHot has super helped me deal with my costochondritis. 

IcyHot comes in a wide variety of forms. This roller-ball form helps keep your hands clean when you apply it. It’s also in cream form, patch form, or, my favorite, spray form. The spray helps me reach areas that I can’t get with cream or roller-ball.

How do you manage your chronic pain?

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